Anti-thread-ballooning device for knitting-machines



A. M. PIGEON.

ANTl-THREAD-BALLOONING DEVICE FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

- APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, .918. 1,340,681.

Patented May 18, 1920.

3 SHEETS- SHEET l 15?, ven'lior;

A. M. PIGEON.

ANTI-THREAD'BALLOONING DEVICE FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, 19I8.

Patnted May 18,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

7 Inuen tor.- bent J 1. Iii e A. M. PIGEON. ANTI-THREAD-BALLOONING DEVICE FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, I918.

Patented May 18, 1920.

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Inventor.

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A @6102, MoMmv UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALBERT M. PIG-EON, OF NORRIS'I'OWN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WILDMAN MFG ('30., OF NORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

ANTI-THREAD-BALLOONING DEVICE FOR KNITTING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 18, 1920.

Application filed January 28, 1918. Serial No. 214,155.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT M. PIGEON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Norristown, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Anti-Thread-Ballooning Devices for Knitting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to circular knitting machines of that class known in the art as direct feed, independently movable spring beard needle machines, in which class the needles are supplied with yarn direct, and not by the use of sinkers or yarn loop-making instruments commonly associated with spring needle knitting machines prior to my invention disclosed in application for Letters Patent of the United States, dated une 19, 1911, Serial Number 633,938, Patent No. 1,266,044, May 14, 1918.

One object of my invention is to insure the smooth, free delivery of the yarn to the needles, while preventing it from wavering or ballooning at the point where the needle beards are about to seize it.

Another object of my invention is to provide a flexible, or yielding yarn directing member that will smooth the yarn and also act upon it yieldingly, so as to permit small knots, bunches, varying sizes of yarn, and loose ends of yarn to be freely fed to the needles and to be smoothed down as they pass to said needles.

A further object of the invention is to provide a flexible or yielding yarn smoothing member that will permit of the free introduction of new strands of yarn to the needles and the free removal of strands of yarn from feeding position, as for illustration in changing yarns for heel and toe knitting striping, or splicing.

In the accompanying drawings;

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a part of a knitting head showing the needles, the needle cylinder, the yarn feed-mouth piece, the delivery ends of the yarn fingers, and a brush arranged between the yarn fingers and the bearded needles, this illustrating one embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a knitting head embodying the same form of the invention as in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a machine the invention, both constructions being suited to the purpose of directing and smoothing the yarn and preventing the wavering or ballooning thereof and consequently the displacement of yarn from proper contact with the needle stems at the moment when the needle beards are about to seize it.

Brushes used as latch openers, lint removers, and for various other purposes are well known and understood in connection with latch and spring needle knitting machines and form no part of my invention which relates to means for preventing undue displacement of the yarn in relation to spring beard needles of a circular knitting machine of the type in which theneedles are fed direct, without sinking the yarn between their stems.

As illustrated, the knitting machine cylinder revolves from left to right for round and round knitting as indicated by arrows in the drawings.

The yarn passes from the yarn finger 1 through the fixed mouth piece 2 along on the tops of the web holders 8, and is laid close to the needle stems, and under the needle beards.

According to one form of the invention a brush 4 is set close to the needle stems so as to bear against the yarn at a point between the feed mouth piece 2 and where the descending needle beards seize the yarn. The brush is preferably placed at an angle to the vertical needles, so that the bristles will incline in the direction of the yarn travel. In knitting practice the yarn passes rapidly from the feed mouth to the knitting point. The brush contacting with it lightly, prevents the yarn from wavering or ballooning and also forces it lightly against the needle stems. Should bunches, small knots, or, soft ioo sections of yarn be fed from the mouth piece,-the brush softly smoothes these against the needle stems. Loose ends of yarn that occur when one yarn is replaced by another, as for heel and toe, or striping operations, are straightened out and smoothed into contact with the needle stems. The effect of this smoothing and yarn laying is to insure the passage of the needle beards safely over the strand of yarn. The yarn, when not restrained by the brush sometimes balloons and the needle beards pass inside the yarn without taking it, thus causing dropstitches. Very slight wavering of the yarn will cause a single needle beard to pass inside of the yarn, making a drop stitch and the beards of adjacent needles will stab into it, splitting the strand and causing a hole in consequence of the yarn being prevented from moving freely. Soft sections of yarn, or knots will also allow the needle beards to stab and split the yarn, unless smoothed down by the brush. Needle beards when thrust into the rapidly moving yarn or into soft sections, knots,'bunches oranyother obstruction, are sprung sidewise, and the beards fail to find the needle eyes in the needle stems, andthey *annot be pressed properly and consequently they are often broken. The broken beards are likely to be engaged by other needle beards causing them to break, and a serious smashing of needles occur, a condition understood by knitters.

The brush contacting with the yarn lightly, insures the seizure of the yarn by the needle beards, which pass over the yarn safely without splitting it, therefore eliminatingan element of danger that is peculiar to direct fed spring needlemachines,and that does not exist in either latch needle or sinker fed spring needle machines.

The yielding yarn smoothing member permits different threads to be introduced as in splicing or striping, as the velocity of the yarn going to the needles is many times faster than the speed of the revolving set of needles. When a yarn is-lifted out ofits low feedingpath, the rapidly moving yarn slides freely past the brush at any level, and a new yarn can be fed down between the brush and the needles with perfect freedom, which would not be so-if the needles are not traveling'and drawing on the thread.

The brush under conditions of knitting operations becomes a switch device directing one yarn out of feeding position and another yarn into its proper feeding place to be seized by the needles.

The operation of the yarn feeds, needles, pressers and web holders ofa spring needle knitting machine being well understood in the knitting art, specific description of the operation of those parts is deemed unnecessary, further than to point out that in the drawings the elements 3- are web holders,

and the elements 5 are beard pressers. It will be seen that I have provi'deda durable, simple, and convenient smoothing, and auxiliary feeding device free from complications, and which readily may be applied to circular spring needle knitting machines of the direct feed type.

The brush is held by a bracket (3 secured to the standard 6, which carries the yarn fingers.

As stated above, and as shown in Figs. 3 and I may employ, instead of a brush, a yarn smoothing finger consisting of a roller 7 journaled in stem '8, slidably mounted in a casing 9 containing a spring 10 for exerting a yielding pressure upon the stem to press the roll yieldingly against the yarn.

This roll isof conical form, tapering up wardly, and inwardly in respect to the axis of the machine, so that its peripheral face will find a proper bearing against the yarn.

The stem or shank carrying the rolls is set at an inclination in respect to the plane of the needles.

The roller finger will allow the rapidly moving yarn to be shifted into and out of feeding position in splicing or striping with substantially the same facility as in the case of the brush form of yarnsmoothing implement and this roller form of the invention functions the same as the brush in smoothing down the yarn, taking care of lumps, loose ends, andthe like, and preventing wavering or ballooning of the yarn.

, The metallic finger is adjustable by the two thumb nuts illustrated, so as to hold the yarn close to the needle stems. This metallic finger should not rub the yarn against thestem, as the friction created would be too severe.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In a circular spring needle knitting machine having independently movable needles, means to guide the yarn directly and close to the needles withoutsinking it between them, means to actuate the needles to draw ,loops'o f yarn into the fabric, and an anti-ballooning device located between the yarn guide and the point where the needle beards take the yarn, said device having a surface to extend transversely of beard needle knitting machine, a needle cylinder, spring beard needles movable independently therein, yarn feed means and a brush device located at a fixed point, intermediate the yarn feed device, and the point where the needle beard takes the yarn, said device pressing the yarn against the needle stems, but yielding to the run of the yarn and to lumps, bunches or knots in the yarn, said brush device automatically permitting the upward withdrawal of the yarn when the same is raised and the automatic receiving of the yarn when the same is lowered to feeding position, substantially as described.

4;. In combination in a circular knitting machine of the type having independently movable spring beard needles, a yarn guide for feeding the yarn direct to the stems thereof, a flexible yarn controlling member having lateral fiexion adjacent to the yarn feeding point in the machine having a wiping action across the needle stems, said member contacting with the yarn to guide the same under the needle beards to be taken thereby as the needle descends, substantially as described.

5. In a circular spring needle knitting machine, spring beard needles, means for operating them independently, yarn feed fingers, means for moving them to and from the position in which t ey feed the yarn direct to the needles without the interposition of sinkers, and a device between the yarn feed fingers and the point where the needle beards take the yarn, said device bearing on the yarn to prevent it from ballooning, and yielding to permit the passage of lumps and the like, said device automatically permitting the upward withdrawal of the yarn when the yarn finger lifts and the automatic receiving of the yarn when the yarn finger is lowered to feeding position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ALBERT M. PIGEON. 

